Origami

Origami is a Japanese art. It literally means art of Paper Folding. The word "Oru" stands for folding and "kami" for paper .Previously, the art was called orikata ("folded shapes").

Originally people used to fold paper into shapes only for fun .Then people started this as an art. In earlier days paper was a rare stuff and costly so this art remained confined to the higher class of the society.

In Japan and China Origami is very famous and the skill with which they fold the paper quickly into various structures is fascinating.Some believe that Origami is restricted to paper folding only, cutting or gluing the paper is not Origami but origami has no such stringent rules.

There are many forms of origami and have different names for example Kirigami(cutting paper during creation) etc. Origami used to have one or two papers now modular Origami has evolved which uses many papers to give rise to a structure.

To know more about Origami and it's history you can visit the following links:
origami.ousaan.com
www.origami.as

Folding papers into structures is so interesting. You can find a lot of sites on internet where you get the folding diagrams.Few are listed below.
Origami.com
foldnet
paperfolding

Origami is useful in many aspects of daily living such as interior decorations and as fashion accessories. In the field of packaging design, Origami has been applied to the development of practical and attractive paper boxes, cartons and wrappings